The present invention relates generally to multi-well containers, such as microtitration plates, for multi-sample fluid handling systems.
Patient health care and biological research have made dramatic improvements in recent years, in part due to the utilization of assay techniques. Laboratory and clinical procedures involving biospecific affinity reactions are commonly employed in testing biological samples, such as blood or urine, for the identification and/or quantification of a wide range of target substances, such as particular chemical substances that have been correlated or associated with various disease conditions. The efficiency with which various tests, reactions, assays and the like can be performed in biology, clinical diagnostics, and other areas, has been greatly increased by adoption of parallel sample handling techniques. Specific examples include polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), enzyme immune assay (EIA), radioimmune assay (RIA), membrane capture assays, cell washing, enzyme assays, receptor binding assays, other molecular biological reactions and washes, and the like. In most of these procedures, samples are processed in multi-well or multi-well assay plates.
One of the most common plate formats is a 96-well assay plate, wherein the wells are arranged in a matrix having 8 lettered rows and 12 numbered columns. Multi-well assay plates may be manually handled or handled by automated systems. Known automated systems include robotic devices for use in various procedures including thermal cycling of PCR reactions, luminometers, plate readers and the like. Fluids may be transferred between selected wells, and the plates may be manipulated for storing, reacting and/or analyzing the samples.
During certain processing steps, the samples (and the plates holding the samples) may be heated. Under extreme temperatures, it is not uncommon for the multi-well assay plates to warp. A warped multi-well assay plate is difficult to effectively utilize and handle.
Accordingly, there is a need for an assembly that prevents or reduces the likelihood of a multi-well assay plate from warping as a result of exposure to extreme heating conditions. There is also a need for an assembly that facilitates and improves the handling of a multi-well assay plate. Thus, it is desirable to provide an assembly which includes a multi-well assay plate, which is of relatively simple, yet dependable, construction and operation, which improves the handling of the multi-well assay plate, and which is of practical utility for use in various laboratory and clinical procedures.
Briefly, the present invention includes a multi-well assay plate and plate holder and a method of assembling the same. The plate holder engages a top side and a bottom side of the multi-well assay plate. The plate holder holds the multi-well assay plate to prevent or substantially inhibit the ability of the multi-well assay plate to warp when the multi-well assay plate is subjected to changing temperatures. The plate holder enhances the ease in which the multi-well assay plate can be manually or mechanically handled. In one embodiment, the plate holder includes an upper portion designed to be positioned above the multi-well assay plate, and a lower portion designed to be positioned under the multiwell assay plate. The upper portion is releasably engaged to the lower portion to sandwich and hold the multi-well assay plate therebetween. Preferably, the plate holder includes at least one detent for positioning and holding the upper portion in relation to the lower portion.